


Six Minutes: I Promise

by blazichu



Series: Six Minutes [3]
Category: Ratchet and Clank
Genre: Gen, Ironic Echo, friendship fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-08
Updated: 2011-05-08
Packaged: 2017-10-19 03:46:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/196525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blazichu/pseuds/blazichu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The third in a series of "what if" style oneshots:</p><p>Wearily, the lombax rose to his feet, wavering slightly before using the Omniwrench to steady himself.</p><p>There was still one more thing left to fix.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Six Minutes: I Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: As Y.E.T.I on Grelbin, here do spoilers abound.

As he finished repairing the innards of some control that he didn’t know the name of, Ratchet winced. He’d been strongly favoring his right arm during all of the repair work, since he was absolutely certain that he’d managed to dislocate his left shoulder, somewhere in the day’s struggles. Not that his right arm was faring much better; that was due mostly to overexertion, though. The lombax was just flat-out exhausted; he’d been on a mission that had spanned years, and had come to its high point within the last few days. And, in most ways, that mission had turned out to be a compete failure. He sighed and put the Omniwrench down, before ever-so-gracefully collapsing to a seated position beside it.

What a day; none of his other adventures could even compare to it! Drek? No way, that was far too early in the career path as “hero-slash-demolition team”. Dreadzone? What a joke! Not even Tachyon could hold his ground against this. The places he’d seen, the people he’d encountered, even meeting Alister paled in comparison! Ratchet knew that an even harder task was still to come, though, approaching far too quickly.

Today, he had to say goodbye to Clank.

The lombax leaned forward, burying his face in his hands. He didn’t mean to sound sappy or anything, but couldn’t help wondering whether the lingering ache in his chest was truly due to the attack that Alister had never really carried out.

He…he owed Clank this, though. Who knew where he’d be- _if_ he’d be!- if the little robot hadn’t coaxed him into helping, all those years ago? It wasn’t a pleasant thought, since it meant that the majority of Solana would, in all likelihood, be in ruins.

 _Why_ in the three Bogonian hells had he even _considered_ altering the past, like that? It was idiotic! Alister had promised him his family, but…he already _had_ one…

…Emphasis on _had_.

Ratchet sighed again, into his hands, before lifting his head and rubbing at his eyes. This was for the best! For Clank’s benefit! He would _not_ get in the way of that! He…he wasn’t going to cry! But…he knew he was kidding himself, on that last one. Wearily, the lombax rose to his feet, wavering slightly before using the Omniwrench to steady himself.

There was still one more thing left to fix.

Ears drooping, he turned to the last of the damaged consoles, noticing vaguely that it had already been unplugged. Helpful at the moment, but it really made him wonder how well this…Sigmund knew his stuff. Just a few minutes before he’d finished, the two robots reentered the chamber, having, apparently, finished the jobs they’d set out to take care of. Ratchet didn’t respond right away, he didn’t even look up from his work. It was pointless, but made him feel better for the moment. That literally was a moment, too, since the next thing he knew, he was plugging the console back in and clumsily standing back up.

In that same instance, the room darkened dramatically, drawing all eyes to the frozen hologram. The lombax hung his head, realizing that his time with Clank was up.

“You okay?” Sigmund asked suddenly, startling the little bot out of a daze.

“Fine.” Ratchet whispered, though he’d intended to sound far more confident about it. He began to reach out toward his friend, but stopped, drawing his hand back quickly, as though he’d been stung, and glanced over his aching shoulder at the chamber’s exit, slowly looking back, forcing a thoroughly unconvincing smile.

“Guess it’s time for me to go, huh?” It wasn’t really a question; though, somehow, it sounded stronger than the earlier rasping. The lombax didn’t bother raising a hand in parting; one was still pressed to the decal over his chest, and the other hung limply at his side, wrench practically dangling from his numb fingertips. “Pal…stay safe.”

 _I’ll miss you._

As he turned away, the fake grin vanished, his ears drooped ever-so-slightly, despite an effort not to let it show, and the lombax blinked furiously, trying to stall the inevitable tears, if just for a few minutes. Curiously, the entire room remained silent, save for his light footfalls.

“I am curious where you believe you are headed, fur ball.” There was a beat of silence, before rapid metallic footfalls drew closer. Stunned, Ratchet turned back around, unsure as to where this was headed. Green sight sensors glowed back at him, and the little robot smiled faintly, looking fondly exasperated. “Despite the fact that the Clock is now functioning properly, your arm must be repaired, as well.”

As if to demonstrate the fact, he gently brushed his hand against the larger, gloved one within reach, and looked up, only to find that his gaze was not returned. Curious. Clank didn’t have long to theorize about this oddity, since, habitually, the lombax knelt down to face him, answering the question in the process.

His eyes were closed because he…he was crying.

It was difficult to say what could have caused this… Clank had only ever seen Ratchet come _close_ to tears a handful of times. On such occasions, he could hardly blame his organic companion; the disbelieving betrayal had been clear, after their conversation with IRIS, and red hot fury hadn’t been surprising, once Drek’s plans for Veldin had been uncovered. This…was different, and he wasn’t sure how.

Of course, the little robot had absolutely no way of knowing that this instance _wasn’t_ isolated; he’d been completely out of it, in this very place, the first time that emotion had _truly_ overcome the lombax. After his absence had sunk in and their companions in the quest for the Dimensionator had tried to console the stunned hero- Ratchet had hastily fled the scene, and nobody had caught sight of him for hours afterwards. In the single day, the sobs had outnumbered those having taken place over the lombax’s entire life. Were he aware of this fact, the quiet weeping wouldn’t have surprised Clank to such a degree; but as it remained, the bot was uninformed of it.

He couldn’t help but wonder why this had come as such a surprise, though; surely Ratchet knew that he would not leave him? The lombax in question smiled, unseen; it was not so much the fact that he was surprised, as much as it was the promise that the action sealed. It had been an unspoken assurance, a coded one; something that you had to have knowledge of to understand. At the time he’d made it, Ratchet had still been very much a child; he hadn’t wanted to sound weak.

It was an indescribable comfort, knowing that Clank had understood it, even if it did take years to find the right time to return the promise.

And, when he finally opened his eyes, he found that same mech, still smiling at him, still reassuring him. Wordlessly, Clank trapped the lombax’s one ‘good’ hand, and waited for him to get back up.

“Come along, Ratchet, you have a promise to keep... as do I.”

 _I’ll never abandon you._


End file.
